


I Find it Hard to Breathe

by chvotic



Series: Bad Things Happen [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bisexual Peter Parker, Crying, Emotional Hurt, Father-Son Relationship, Flash Thompson Redemption, Gen, Hugs, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Minor Injuries, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Nicknames, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Assault, Swearing, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Triggers, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:40:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chvotic/pseuds/chvotic
Summary: “That’s not what it sounded like to me.” Flash stepped forward, teeth grinding together. He pushed his own experience to the back of his mind and pointedly ignored his heart pumping in his ears. “He told you to stop.”“Yeah, and?”Flash laughed, without any humour. It was mostly out of shock. “Really, man?”OrPeter finds himself trapped in an abusive relationship, and an unlikely hero steps in.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Flash Thompson, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Bad Things Happen [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813579
Comments: 23
Kudos: 619





	I Find it Hard to Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> **PROMPT - Cry into chest**
> 
> this is loosely based off of the prompt, but not really. i'll add it anyways.
> 
>  **READ THE TAGS!** a lot of the stuff in here is pretty confronting, so if any content in the tags trigger you, this fic is not for you. 
> 
> i spent sooo long on this and now i don't really like it, but i'll post it anyways i guess. i hope you guys enjoy!!
> 
> title is from another 5sos song oops  
> 5sos: the only reason

Peter limped into the apartment with tears decorating his cheeks.

Pain vibrated around his body as he moved to lean against the counter, head in hands as he sobbed as quietly as he could. He dropped is backpack on the floor and focussed on trying not to vomit, the tightness of his chest overpowering every other emotion. The panic that had loomed within him now began to make itself more prominent, and all he could do was cry.

He couldn’t breathe. His entire body ached, he was embarrassed and humiliated, and it felt like he was dying.

After staying hunched over the kitchen counter for a while, Peter left the kitchen and stumbled into the bathroom. The teen avoided looking at himself in the mirror as he stripped himself of all of his clothes, feeling dirty as he turned on the shower. When the water was scalding, Peter stepped under the heavy spray and began to clean himself off.

Peter wasn’t sure how long he was in the shower for, but he didn’t feel any less dirty when he stepped out. His skin was beat red, but even then, the long red lines were visible on his thighs, along with a dark bruise. He ignored it all as he stepped out, shoulders shaking with quiet sobs that just didn’t seem to want to stop.

As he dried himself off, he caught his reflection in the mirror. Peter looked at himself and felt a rush of disappointment, another hickey visible on his neck in a place he couldn’t cover with the collar of his shirt. There was a second just below his collarbone.

Peter looked away and abruptly heaved. It came on so quickly he had no time to make a move for the toilet, so instead he vomited into the sink with a painful, and loud, retch. It made him feel all the more disgusting, and once he was finished, all he could do was clean up his mess and limp into his bedroom.

Once he was dressed in his pyjamas, Peter sat on his bed cross-legged with his blankets around his shoulders. He stared out the window, up at the stars, trying to calm his racing heart. It hurt to sit like this, it hurt to sit at all, but he pushed the pain he was feeling to the back of his mind as he focussed on the clear sky above him.

His phone beeped, though Peter didn’t have the energy to look at it. Eventually, when sitting became too painful, Peter lowered himself into bed and laid on his side. It wasn’t long before he was crying again, though this time silently. Peter could still feel _his_ hands on him, pulling at him, forcing his limbs to go where he wanted them.

He wasn’t sure when, but eventually, he cried himself to a slumber filled with horrible, painful nightmares.

-

In the mirror the next morning, the hickeys and scratches had mostly healed up. They were nothing more but a faint yellow bruise, one that someone would only notice if they looked hard enough. In a few hours, or maybe even less, the hickeys would be gone for good and no one would know what he had done.

The pain in his backside hadn’t lessened up a bit, and in all honesty, it felt worsethan it had last night. It must have healed some, but not enough. Maybe the damage was worse off than he had initially thought. Or, maybe, it was all in his head. Peter had no idea anymore.

It felt like the hands were still on his body, touching him everywhere he didn’t want to be touched. _His_ voice whispered in the back of Peter’s mind, the degrading words reminding him about how much he had fucked up.

Peter couldn’t believe he had let his happen.

“Hey baby.” May greeted him with big bags under her eyes, still dressed in her uniform from work. “How was your night?”

“It was good.” Peter lied with a smile. It wavered, but thankfully, May wasn’t looking at him. “How was work?”

“Tiring.” She laughed. “I’m going to head off to bed. Have a good day at school. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Peter accepted her hug with a subtle flinch. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything, and Peter didn’t let his shoulders sag until May was safely tucked away in her room. Skipping breakfast, Peter headed out of the apartment with tears in his eyes.

The walk to school went as usual, and the closer he got the more terrified he felt.

However, he pushed the panic and fear away as he stepped over the threshold into his school, a blank expression on his face as he pushed through the large number of students crowding the corridors. He tried not to limp, but every now and then the ache would become too great.

As he made his way up the stairs, he couldn’t help but feel like everyone knew. Peter could feel eyes on him, though when he looked up, there wasn’t a head turned his way. He knew he was most likely paranoid, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

When he saw Ned and Michelle by his locker, Peter couldn’t have been more thankful that hewasn’t there yet. The thought of seeing him and acting like nothing had happened last night made him feel sicker than he already did. The thought of pretending he was okay in front of his friends made his heart pound.

When he made it to his friends, he took out his earphones and plastered a smile on his face.

“Hey Peter.” Michelle and Ned greeted at the same time. Peter was about to respond but was stopped by Michelle who was already scrutinising him, eyes narrowed in question. “Is something wrong?”

Peter kept up the fake smile and began doing his locker combination. “No. Nothing’s wrong.”

“I don’t believe you.” Michelle snarked, not unkindly. Peter was able to sense the concern radiating off his friends in waves.

“Hey babe.”

Peter couldn’t repress the flinch at the sound of his voice. Still, he maintained the smile and act like nothing had happened and turned to his boyfriend who was just about to place a hand around his waist. Despite the crippling fear that threated to break free, Peter let Lucas wrap his arm around his waist and press a kiss to his cheek.

Usually, Peter’s stomach would be filled with butterflies at the sweet action that had become so familiar to him. However, now, nothing could have been more unwanted. Peter felt the urge to vomit, the memories of those lips being in places he’d rather not remember just hours ago tormenting him.

“Hey Luke.” Peter replied. Lucas looked at him with glee, then winked. Peter wanted to cry, but the tears never came.

He was supposed to be happy about what had happened last night. Right?

No matter how hard he tried to like the thought of what had happened, all he could associate with the event was pain. The powerlessness he felt, despite being ten times stronger than his boyfriend. Peter should have been able to shove the other teen off of him after his pleas to stop were ignored, but he found that his limbs were paralysed.

“How’re you feeling?” Lucas asked, in front of their friends, with another wink as he leaned forward to kiss Peter on the lips. Peter let him and closed his eyes to try to pretend like it wasn’t happening. He didn’t enjoy kissing anymore.

When the boy pulled away, Peter gathered the courage to reply.

“I’m good.”

Lucas grinned, ear to ear, almost Cheshire-like.

“For God’s sake, get a room, losers.” Flash jeered as he thundered past with his group of friends. Peter rolled his eyes and ignored the bully but was secretly glad for the distraction. He pulled away from his boyfriend’s hold and moved to stand by Ned, who looked both confused and uncomfortable. When Peter looked to Michelle, she mirrored Ned’s expression.

Peter felt horrible. He never liked _being_ with Lucas in front of them. It made him feel like they thought he was ignoring them.

“I’ll see you at lunch.” Lucas smiled in a way that would appear sweet to anyone else, but Peter could tell there was something off about the expression. Peter had never seen it before, or maybe he just hadn’t noticed, and it made the need to vomit even more persistent. “Love you.”

“Bye.” Peter whispered and didn’t say it back. Lucas didn’t seem to notice as he headed off in the opposite direction with a skip in his step.

“Peter?” Michelle questioned, which brought Peter back to reality. A gentle hand wrapped around his wrist which made him flinch, and before he could think different, he yanked his hand away from Michelle’s soft touch like he’d been burned. “Are you- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, it’s okay. Sorry.” Peter replied, his heart beating hard and loud in his ears as he nervously fiddled with his fingers. “Can we just go to homeroom now?”

When he looked at his friends, they both looked worried about him. Ned especially.

“Alright.”

In an awkward silence, the trio made their way to homeroom. Peter repressed the wince when he sat down and was proud of himself for not reacting at all. However, his hands trembled, and he had to shove them in his pockets during roll call. When it was his turn, his voice cracked, and the class sniggered and laughed at him. Flash’s was the loudest.

Face flushed red, Peter ducked his head and avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. When homeroom ended, it was time for English, a class in which he had with both his friends. It was another silent walk to the classroom, and Peter knew it was because the both of them were trying to figure out what was wrong.

Peter could tell them. Right now.

But he couldn’t.

Thankfully, there was no sign of Lucas on the way to class. Peter probably wouldn’t see him until lunch, which was in around three or so hours. Three hours to compose himself before he had to face the other teen again and pretend like he liked what had happened.

When the three sat down in their usual spots for English, Michelle turned to him. “Did something happen with Lucas?”

She was far too observant, and while Peter was immensely grateful for his friend, he wished she couldn’t read him like an open book. Ned was the same, but Michelle was a whole other level. Ned, at least, knew when he really didn’t want to talk about something.

“No. Why?” Even to his own ears he sounded pathetic.

“You know we’re always here if you want to talk about anything.” Her tone was sincere, and Peter knew this wasn’t the normal, sarcastic Michelle he was used to. “Right Ned?”

“Yeah, of course.” Peter glanced at Ned, who looked even more concerned than Michelle.

“Thanks guys.” Peter smiled, a little more genuinely this time. However, it was plagued with lies. “But I’m okay. Nothing happened, we’re fine.”

It was obvious none of them believed him, and Peter wished he could stop being so stupid and just tell them. But saying it out loud terrified him, and he knew it would make it even more real.

It was all he could think about, and the pain was just a cruel reminder.

His phone pinged. Peter rummaged around his pocket until his fingers brushed against the Starkphone. He pulled it out and read the message that appeared on his lock screen. His stomach fell to the pit of his stomach when he saw who it had come from.

_From Lucas Butler, 9:01am_

_why haven’t u been answering any of my texts, babe? did u not like it last night?_

Peter stared at the text for a long time.

He opened the chat, fingers hovering over the keyboard. He typed out multiple responses but deleted all of them. So, he exited the chat and pressed on another one instead.

_To Tony Stark, 9:05am_

_hi mr stark!_

Peter pressed send without an ounce of hesitation.

Before he could see if he got a reply, their teacher walked in and the class begun.

-

Lunch rolled around too quickly. Peter walked between his friends, barely limping now, stomach abuzz with anxiety. He maintained a conversation with Ned to distract himself, wishing he was anywhere but here. Peter wished he could go back to this time the day before, when he had been the happiest, he’d ever been.

Now, he felt like he was dying.

Peter saw Lucas the moment he stepped into the cafeteria. The teen sat at their usual table, typing away on his phone, which was a sudden reminder that Peter still hadn’t answered his texts. He hadn’t looked at his phone since the beginning of first period.

Plastering the best nonchalant expression on his face, he sat down beside Lucas.

“Hey.” Peter said.

“Hey yourself.” Lucas replied after a moment of quickly swiping away something on his phone. “Did you see my texts?”

“What texts?” Peter played dumb as he pulled out his phone. Bad move, because when he turned it on, two texts from Tony appeared on the screen. Before he could swipe them away, Lucas snatched his phone out of his hands.

“Seriously?” Lucas rolled his eyes as they scanned the messages. “You’re still pretending you know Tony Stark?”

Peter’s shoulders slumped a little as he looked at his boyfriend. “I already told you I’m not pretending.”

“I don’t believe you.” Lucas had a sneer to his tone, but it was barely noticeable. Peter watched as the boy entered his password and opened his texts.

He’d have to change his password.

“You opened my text.”

“My class started before I could reply.” Peter mumbled. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

Lucas stared at him for a long moment before he pressed a kiss to his cheek. “It’s okay.”

Peter almost fell for it. Almost.

The action was sweet, as sweet as it always was. But after last night, Peter couldn’t find it in him to like it. Last night, Lucas had been rough, he’d been mean. Peter had been scared of him, and never had he felt more ridiculous. Peter could break Lucas’ arm if he wanted to, no problem. Yet, he’d been paralysed by the terror like the weak idiot he was.

Which led to Peter letting Lucas have his way with him.

Ned and Michelle were going to think he was stupid for letting it happen.

When Peter looked up, Michelle was glaring daggers in Lucas’ direction. Ned hadn’t sat down yet; he’d gone to the lunch line. Peter realised that he’d skipped getting lunch, and Michelle had followed him. He was glad it wasn’t just him and Lucas at the table.

When his phone was handed back to him, he read the messages from Tony when Lucas looked away.

_From Tony Stark, 9:16am_

_Hey Underoos. Shouldn’t you be learning things?_

_From Tony Stark, 10:32am_

_I’ve been looking over your WS combination ideas and figured out some I could add for you. Bring your S tomorrow so we can work on it._

Peter smiled at the excessive use of emojis on the end of the message. He was also grateful that Tony had coded his message well enough that anyone, such as Lucas, wouldn’t have a clue about what they were talking about.

Not that Lucas even believed him.

Quickly before his boyfriend could see what he was doing, he sent a quick reply.

_To Tony Stark, 12:05pm_

_sounds so good mr stark!! i cant wait!!!_

Pocketing his phone, Peter tried his hardest not to make it noticeable his hand was shaking when Lucas grabbed it beneath the table. He felt hot, his armpits beginning to feel sweaty as he tried to ignore the memories from not even twenty-four hours ago.

Ned joined them around five minutes later and offered Peter some of his sandwich. Peter took it, because his fast metabolism was making him feel disgusting after not eating breakfast. He could feel Lucas’ gaze on him as he interacted with Ned, but completely ignored the looks as if he didn’t see them. Michelle must have, because once again, she was glaring.

Peter’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he wished he could take it out and look at the text, because he knew it would be from Tony.

However, with a near-silent sigh, Peter continued to act like nothing was bothering him.

When really, it felt like the whole world was crashing down around him.

-

“Can I come over tonight?” Was the first thing Peter heard when he felt the presence of someone standing behind him. Even without knowing who it was he had tensed up, and now hearing the familiar voice he used to love, his heart began to pound even harder. Hands rested on his hips, lips by his ear. “I had a lot of fun last night, babe.”

“Um...” Peter stammered, wishing desperately that Ned or Michelle would hurry up and get here. “My- my a-aunt is home. I’m g-going out to dinner with her tonight. I can’t.”

“Then I’ll come on the dinner with you and your Aunt. She loves me.” Lucas’s hands tightened around his waist, and so did the panic gripping Peter’s heart. “Come on, baby, you never spend time with me anymore.”

If this had been any other situation, Peter would have scoffed. Instead, he continued to grab his books like Lucas hadn’t lied right to his face.

“I’m sorry.” Peter never wanted to be alone with Lucas ever again, let alone bring him into his home. “What about… uh… Saturday?”

“Tomorrow.” Peter chewed on his lip and slowly turned around in his boyfriend’s hold.

“I can’t tomorrow.” There was no way Peter was missing hanging out with Tony.

“Oh, right, because of the _Internship._ ” Lucas rolled his eyes and pulled away from him. Peter honestly felt liked he’d been slapped, and after what had happened the previous night, he wouldn’t be surprised if the boy did slap him. “Would you give it a rest?”

“No.” Peter snapped back, then immediately regretted it. “Why would I lie to you about that?”

“Hey guys!” _Thank God for Ned Leeds._

Lucas’ expression soured even more. “Fine. See you tomorrow.”

With a quick peck, Lucas stormed off, and Peter couldn’t have been more grateful. However, the anxiety never left, and all he could focus on was the pain. Composing himself and not paying attention to the memories filtering through his mind, he turned to his best friend.

“Is everything okay between you two?” Ned asked with a small frown.

“I told you, everything’s fine.” Peter lied. Now would be the perfect time to tell his friend what was going on, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Because he was being stupid. “Where’s MJ?”

“She had to go home early.” Peter nodded along and closed his locker.

Together, with the safety of his best friend right beside him, he walked out of the school and began his journey home. Usually, he would have gone on patrol, but he didn’t feel like it. If he was completely honest, he wished it was Friday today. He wanted to see Tony.

Though, that wasn’t going to happen.

“Hey Ned?” Peter asked when they were nearing Ned’s apartment.

“Yeah?”

“Wanna come over?” _Please say yes. Please say yes._ “We can watch a movie or something, if you want.”

“Sure!” Peter beamed at his friend, who did the same right back.

In that moment, all memories of the previous night were gone.

-

The second Ned left his apartment, Peter’s mind fell right back into the gutter.

Peter stared at his reflection in the mirror, the pads of his fingers running over the spot where the hickey had been sucked into his neck. He was crying, still feeling incredibly dirty even though he couldn’t possibly be. Without another thought, he stripped until he was naked and once again stood under the scalding hot shower and began to scrub. He scrubbed until it hurt, and only then was he convinced that he was clean.

When he crawled into bed, it was only six thirty and he hadn’t done any of his homework. Peter didn’t care though.

His phone constantly pinged with messages from Lucas, though Peter couldn’t stomach the thought of replying to them. Instead of doing his homework or clearing things up with his boyfriend, he simply let himself drift off.

It wasn’t long before he woke up in a cold sweat, the feeling of hands touching him all over his body making him feel like screaming and clawing at his skin until the feeling went away. Instead, he curled up in a ball and sobbed quietly into his pillow. However, it mustn’t have been quiet enough because not long after he had woken up, the door to his room quietly opened.

“Peter?” May’s gentle, soothing voice called out. Despite knowing it couldn’t possibly be Lucas in his room, he tensed up. A hand rested on his shoulder that was covered by the blankets. “Peter, honey? What’s wrong?”

Peter didn’t reply. He could spill everything right now, he knew May would never be mad at him, but he couldn’t force the words past his lips. Instead, he let out another sob, which made May coo quietly as she sat on the side of his bed. She didn’t ask any more questions, but eventually Peter rolled over so he could hug her, desperate for comfort.

He fell asleep sometime later and woke up with a stuffy nose and a headache the next morning. He checked his phone, which was filled with notifications from Lucas and one from Ned but didn’t answer any of them. As if his body was on autopilot, Peter went through his usual routine, and he and May didn’t talk about his sudden crying fit in the middle of the night.

Instead, he ate the breakfast she had prepared for him, then left the apartment.

At least he wasn’t limping anymore.

The school day passed agonisingly slowly. Lucas seemed to have a revelation overnight and didn’t seem at all angry with him about their last conversation or the fact that Peter was ignoring his messages. He was as sweet as ever, and it made Peter feel sick. He was getting whiplash from the amount of personality changes the boy had gone through in the last two days.

Or, maybe, it had always been like this and Peter had never noticed. Lucas was the first person he’d ever dated. Maybe he had been ignorant from the bliss of finally being in a relationship.

He’d read stories about… _rape._

Peter almost had a panic attack in the middle of Physics when that thought came to his mind. The degrading comments, the other body forcing him into the bed, how much it had hurt and how he had been ignored when he asked to stop.

Ned had noticed and had looked at him worriedly. Peter simply shook his head, and as quickly as it came, he shoved all the emotion down and forced himself to listen to the teacher.

Unlike the day before, Michelle and Lucas accompanied Peter and Ned in their walk out of the school. Peter’s hand was trapped in Lucas’, and he wanted nothing more to yank it away and hide it in his pocket. Though, he couldn’t do any of that. He felt restricted.

Instead, he kept the strained smile on his face right up until they exited the school. Immediately, Peter spotted Happy’s sleek black Audi parked in the carpark.

Just shy of bolting towards it, Peter turned and kissed Lucas’ cheek. “Bye.”

“Bye, babe. See you tomorrow. Love you.” Lucas’ hand hovered dangerously close to his lower half and he hated it. Especially where his friends could see. “I have the perfect date planned for us. You’re going to love it.”

Peter didn’t think he would.

Still, he nodded and played it off like he was excited. Then, he pulled away and did his secret handshake with Ned and jutted his head at Michelle in their usual fashion. He got one in return as normal, though there was something scrutinising about her expression. Peter ignored it and finally got out of reach of Lucas and hurried off to the carpark.

No matter how many times Peter told him, Lucas didn’t believe that the Stark Internship was real. Well, _technically_ , it wasn’t. It was a cover for Spider-Man. But either way, the fact that his own boyfriend sided with Flash’sassumptions hurt more than he could ever imagine.

“Hey kid.” Happy said as Peter got into the car. “Why the long face?”

“Hey Happy.” Peter pouted a little before he realised what he was doing. “What long face?”

“That long face.” If Peter was being honest, there was the faintest hint of a smile on Happy’s lips. “But seriously, you alright, kid?”

“Wow, Happy.” Peter deflected, though his smile became genuine. “You actually _care_ about me?”

“No.” Happy rolled his eyes. “Boss will have my head if his Spider-Baby is unhappy on arrival.”

“I’m not a baby.” Peter rolled his eyes and leant against the window, already feeling better inside of the safety of Happy’s car.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

The car fell into silence, and the trip to the Compound began. Peter just stared out the window after finally replying to Lucas’ texts, knowing the boy would be upset with him again if he didn’t. He sent another to his, Ned and Michelle’s group chat before he pocketed his phone.

To his surprise, Tony was already in the garage when they replied. He was surrounded by a bunch of interns, who seemed to listen to him with intent as he waved his hands around as he spoke. If he was waving his arms, that meant whatever he was talking about was important, or he was really passionate about it.

Peter sheepishly followed Happy over to the group, stomach churning. Not from the presence of the interns, mostly from the terror he felt if Tony knew about what had happened.

Suddenly, his good mood was gone, and a frown replaced his smile.

Just like that, it felt like he was back trapped underneath Lucas’ body.

Without warning, his chest tightened, and all he could do was dig his fingernails into his palms as he came to a stop beside the Head of Security. Tony’s eyes found him immediately, and there was a short moment where the billionaire appeared to analyse Peter’s facial expression.

“I’m sorry, ladies and gents, but I must be off.” Tony said in a professional manner with his press-smile on his face. “Happy, would you take them?”

“Sure.” Happy replied, and soon, it was only Peter, Tony and some maintenance guys in the far corner.

“Hey kiddo.” Tony smiled, but Peter could tell the man knew something was wrong. The man didn’t waste any time in getting closer to him, but not without a glance to Peter’s shaking, clenched fists. “Is everything alright?”

Peter nodded with his lips pressed in a firm line. He knew it was unconvincing.

“How’s about we go up to the lab, yeah?” Peter just knewTony could tell he was mere centimetres away from having a panic attack right there in the garage. A gentle arm wound around his shoulders. “Or we can watch a movie. Whatever you wanna do, Underoos.”

“Lab.” Peter managed to choke out through his tight throat.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Peter was guided over to the lift, and it was then when he finally let out a shaky exhale. It didn’t go unnoticed by Tony, who began to rub Peter’s bicep in firm but soothing motions. Peter counted rapidly in his head to calm his heart and regain control of his breathing, but it didn’t seem to work as well as he hoped.

“You gotta breath, kid.” Tony said to him as the lift began to ascend. “Slow, deep breaths. In, out. You can do it.”

Peter nodded once as he copied Tony’s instructions. By the time they reached Tony’s lab, his chest was a little less tight, but the panic still loomed. Tony didn’t comment on it as he led Peter into the familiar setting of his lab.

Once Peter was sat down at his own desk, which was only a few feet away from Tony’s, it felt like he could breathe again. The familiar scent of motor oil soothed the panic, enough that he could work on calming his heart rate.

To his surprise, Tony sat down across from him. “You want to tell me what’s up?”

Peter’s fingers fiddled with each other in his lap, stomach still doing cartwheels. “I’m fine.”

“You almost had a panic attack, buddy.” Tony’s voice sounded pained, and Peter hated that. “You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to, but I’m worried.”

“I’m really o-okay, Mr. Stark.” Peter tried to smile but it fell again.

Tony just sighed, then ruffled his hair. “Come on, Bambi, what do you want to work on?”

“The Webshooter combos? Please?” Peter asked.

“Of course. Let’s get started.”

-

“You want to stay the night?” Tony asked as Peter was packing up his things.

He wanted to. There was nothing more he wanted than to spend more time with his father figure, but he knew he couldn’t. Not with his and Lucas’ date tomorrow.

“I can’t, I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.” Peter replied with slouched shoulders. He shoved his last book into his backpack before he stood. “I have a date tomorrow morning.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose incredibly high. “Oh, do you now?”

Despite how much he didn’t want to talk about the date, the look of glee on Tony’s face made him want to. It reminded him of something a Dad would do.

“ _Stop._ ” Peter whined and rubbed his face in embarrassment.

“You’ve grown up so fast.” Tony pretended to weep as the two of them headed back into the lift. Though the words were meant to be a part of the teasing, but it made something heavy settle in his gut. He was fifteen. Had he grown up too fast?

_If Tony knew what he’d done…_

“Hey, what’s wrong?” _Shit._ “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no.” Peter quickly shook himself out of the sudden, depressive mood. “You didn’t, it’s fine. Sorry.”

Tony eyed him for a long moment. “Don’t apologise.”

Peter nodded but didn’t reply. When they made it to the garage where Happy was waiting for them, Peter didn’t want to leave.

“See ya, kid.” Tony said as he opened the door for him. “Have fun on your date.”

 _I want to stay here._ “Thanks, Mr. Stark. I will.” _I won’t._

Tony smirked at him proudly before he ruffled Peter’s hair for the thousandth time that night. Peter resisted the urge to go in for a hug and sat down instead.

The drive home was quiet. Once he was inside of the apartment, which was empty, he began to regret saying no to Tony’s offer. He could have spent the night with his Dad and then had Happy drive him to Lucas’. Why hadn’t he thought of that before?

Maybe because he didn’t want Tony or Happy to meet Lucas. Not after he and Peter had… sex.

Admitting it like that made his stomach jolt. He wasn’t a virgin anymore.

Peter hadn’t wanted to have sex so early. But Lucas… he’d…

The word _rape_ floated through his mind.

Peter rushed into the bathroom and promptly vomited all the pizza he’d eaten at Tony’s into the toilet bowel. He retched a few times, a string of bile hanging off of his chin as he leant back on his knees. He stared at the mess he made for a few moments, feeling nothing, before he reached up to wipe the bile away with his sleeve.

Then, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands.

Once he was in bed, all he could do was stare up at the roof and contemplate whether he wanted to call Tony and change his mind about sleeping over. His room in the Compound sounded a lot less lonely than the one in his apartment.

Peter pulled out his phone, thumb hovered over the call button. He almost did it, then shook his head last second and tossed his phone onto the bedside table face down.

Once again, for the third night in a row, he fell into a fitful, nightmare-burdened sleep.

-

When he woke up that morning, it was raining.

With a grim sigh, he dragged himself out of bed and got ready for the day. Peter had woken up late, and Lucas was coming to pick him up at ten. It was nine thirty. Since he was sixteen already, Lucas could drive. Peter didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

He considered hiding in his apartment for the entire day, then decided against it. If he got it over with, he could call Tony and possibly head back to the Compound.

The half hour before Lucas rung his doorbell was quick. Peter took a few deep breaths and plastered another fake smile on his face as he opened the door. Lucas was dressed normally, also smiling, but there was something about his expression that made Peter uncomfortable and scared.

“Hey babe.” Lucas said before locking their lips together.

When they pulled apart, Peter knew he must look pale. “Hey.”

“You ready?” _No._ Peter nodded. “Come on then, let’s go.”

And they did.

Arriving at his boyfriend’s house after the last time Peter had been there was incredibly confronting. The closer they got, the more he remembered, the more he felt Lucas’ hands in places he hadn’t been ready to be touched. What made things ten times worse, was the hand that Lucas currently had resting on his thigh. Usually, it would have been a nice gesture.

But now, nothing seemed to be.

“Why so tense?” Lucas rubbed his thigh a few times which made Peter jolt. “And jumpy?”

“I’m fine.” Peter gritted out through clenched teeth and the panic blossoming in his chest.

“Are you sure?” The hand tightened around his thigh, dangerously close to his crotch. Peter’s breath hitched as he stared straight ahead at the car in front of him. “Peter?”

“I said I’m _fine._ ” Peter hissed, though it didn’t sound unkind. Lucas didn’t seem to notice the edge of panic in his tone either.

“How was your _Stark Internship_ last night?” Lucas’ had become impossibly tighter as he spat the words out. “Or whatever you were doing?”

“It was good.”

Silence.

 _Why won’t you believe me?_ Peter wanted to ask.

When Lucas finally pulled into the driveway, Peter couldn’t wait to get out of the car and away from his boyfriend’s hand. His freedom only lasted a few moments before he was pulled into the house by that same hand.

“So, what’re we gonna do?” Lucas asked after a moment of Peter awkwardly standing in the front door.

“I don’t know.” _Some date._

“Well, I have a few ideas.”

“What about a movie?” Peter said so quickly he was surprised Lucas even understood him. Lucas cocked his head at him the same way a puppy would, but not in the same innocence. They just stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before Lucas nodded.

“If that’s what you want.”

Peter wished any of Lucas’ family was home. He knew none of them were, Lucas wouldn’t have brought him here otherwise.

So, together, they headed into the living room and Lucas picked a movie. It was some old movie Peter didn’t care about, but he would take anything over having to kiss his boyfriend again.

They ended up spooning on the couch, Peter the small spoon. He tried to be as relaxed as possible, but Lucas hand was rubbing his lower abdomen in a way he hated. His senses picked up the breath fanning on the back of his neck and made it all the more irritating, but all he could do was stare intently at the TV and pretend like nothing was happening.

They didn’t even get halfway before Lucas’ hand reached lower and grabbed him through his jeans. Peter whimpered, and not in the pleasurable way that Lucas might think. His entire body had gone rigid with terror, and for the second time, he found himself completely and undoubtedly paralysed.

Tears sprung to his eyes as Lucas shifted, pushing Peter so his back was on the couch. Peter wanted to push the other boy away, but his limbs didn’t want to cooperate. Lucas kissed him, long and deep, tongue invading his mouth. The tears began to leak down the side of his face, his chest tight with panic yet again.

When Lucas pulled away to look at him, the boy’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to.” Peter shook his head and tried to sit up. He was perfectly capable to throw Lucas into the opposite wall, but all he managed to do was push against his boyfriend’s chest and try get out from under his body. When Lucas didn’t budge, Peter wiped the tears from his eyes instead. “I’m not ready.”

He had told Lucas that the first time, and the teen hadn’t listened.

“Yes, you are. We’ve already done this.” Lucas _rolled his eyes_ and sat down more firmly on top of Peter.

“I want to go.” Peter muttered as he tried to slide out. “I don’t want to do this, Luke.”

“Oh come on, Pete. You hardly ever spend time with me. Is there something wrong with me? Is that why you don’t want to have sex with me?” Lucas was guilt tripping him. Peter knew it. The disappointed tone in his boyfriend’s voice got to him. Making people disappointed in him was practically one of his worst fears, and right now Lucas was using it to his advantage. “Are you cheating on me? Is that why you never hang out with me on Friday nights or the weekend?”

“I’m not cheating on you.” Peter whispered. “I’d never cheat.”

As small and vulnerable as Lucas made him feel, he’d never cheat on the boy. Or anyone he was dating, for that matter.

“Then where do you go every fucking Friday, then?”

Peter winced. “I already told you.”

“For Gods sake, Peter. I know you’re not going to the Avengers Compound on your Friday nights. Who are you fucking?”

Peter spluttered. “No one!”

“Then why won’t you let me? Did you not like it?”

“No.” Peter said before he thought about it. “I didn’t. Please let me go home.”

“ _No._ ” Lucas denied and grabbed his wrists to pin him down. Peter’s jaw fell slack with fear, and once again, he couldn’t move. If he used his powers, Lucas would know who he was. If he used his powers, he could hurt him. Even if he wanted to use them, he couldn’t, because his muscles wouldn’t make his body move despite how much Peter’s brain begged them to. “Come on, babe, do it for me.”

Peter didn’t even get the chance to reply before he was being kissed again. He let it happen, barely able to keep his tears at bay as a lump of emotion formed in his throat.

He didn’t fight when hands unbuckled his belt, or when his jeans and boxers were yanked down at the same time. Peter just cried silently through it all, not even attempting to reciprocate as Lucas moved his body wherever he wanted it. More hickeys were sucked into his skin as his shirt came off too.

Peter cried out involuntarily as Lucas had his way with him for the second time, tears streaking down his face once again as he waited it out. Everything in his body hurt, and all he wanted was to go home, or back to the Compound in the safety of the lab with one of the only people he trusted to keep him safe one-hundred percent.

When it was over, Lucas helped him clean up. Peter said nothing, the silent tears still falling.

It was obvious the whole date was for sex. Maybe the whole relationship was for sex.

Either way, Peter was driven home straight after.

Thankfully, May wasn’t home, again. Peter collapsed in his bed, without a shower this time, and sobbed freely through the pain.

Why couldn’t he just have fought back? Why was he so weak?

No one answered his question.

Alone, he cried himself to sleep.

-

When Flash saw Parker in the hallway that Monday, the first thing he thought was, _wow_ , he looked like shit. There were hug bags under the nerd’s eyes, and he was barely smiling. Flash had been thinking of making some offhanded comment like he usually did but decided to spare Parker the embarrassment. He looked like he’d been through enough already.

The boy also had the tiniest of limps which was barely noticeable, but noticeable enough for Flash to pick it up.

So, he ignored Parker. Flash came across Parker’s boyfriend not even a minute later, who was talking with some girl at her locker. He eyed the boy’s body language with furrowed eyebrows.

Deciding not to worry about it, Flash continued with his day like nothing had been out of the ordinary.

He didn’t even care about Parker’s wellbeing, anyways.

-

The next day, he saw Parker in the cafeteria with his usual group. He sat next to his boyfriend; body obviously tense. When Flash walked past, he could see Butler’s hand gripping Peter’s knee under the table.

Then, Jones caught his eye. She glared daggers at him, so Flash simply rolled his eyes and continued walking to his usual table without a word.

Not even fifteen minutes later, Parker bumped into him in the hall on the way to class. Flash was already preparing a snarky, mean remark, but before he could say a word, Peter roughly flinched away from him and backed up several steps like he’d been burned.

That had never happened before.

Flash and his friends, froze for a short moment, at a loss for words. Jones, who had been walking with Parker, also stopped with a confused look on her face.

“Sorry.” Peter muttered without meeting Flash’s eye.

Then, the boy kept walking like nothing happened. Jones, again, glared at him with such malice that Flash knew not to say a word.

So, for once in his life, he didn’t.

-

On Wednesday, Parker looked even worse. There was definitely a hickey on his neck, one he hadn’t tried to hide. Parker locked eyes with him when Flash was openly staring and conjuring a remark, and what Flash wasn’t expecting was for Parker’s eyes to become glossy with what looked like tears.

The other teen looked away and yanked his shirt collar over the mark, almost desperately.

Flash didn’t say anything.

-

Thursday. Flash’s Thursdays always seemed to be the worst day.

First, he’d failed his Chemistry quiz. Second, he’d gotten yelled at in the middle of Physics for talking with his friends. Third, he got a basketball to the face in Gym class. And finally, fourth, he forgot his fucking gym bag in the locker rooms after said Gym class.

Flash practically ran to the other side of the school where the gym was located, the bell having rung hours ago. If he was late, Father was going to kill him. Flash was definitely already late, but he tried not to think about it as he raced towards the boy’s locker rooms.

Slowing down his pace, he walked into the locker rooms and spotted his gym bag on the bench where he had left it. However, there were two other bags on the opposite bench.

Just before he moved past the shower cubicles, hushed voices made it to his ears. He froze for a moment to listen.

“I d-don’t want to, not in s-school.” One of them whispered, sounding incredibly panicked. “There’s someone here.”

“No there isn’t. You’re just paranoid.” The second voice, which was much less shaky and scared, was much easier to recognise. It was Parker’s boyfriend, which only mean the other person had to be Parker. “Come on, babe, just quickly.”

“Stop.” There was a small rustle, as if one of them was struggling. “P-please, let me go. There’s someone here.”

“There’s isn’t. I thought you loved me?”

“I do.” Parker replied quickly, but it didn’t sound too true. Flash’s stomach began to turn as he listened to Peter’s frantic words; words that sounded familiar. The whole situation itself was familiar to him, and not in a good way. “But I t-told you I wasn’t ready.”

“Just a quickie.” Was Butler’s response. “Then we can go. Please?”

“I don’t want to. Let me go. Please.”

Parker sounded terrified.

Flash took in a deep breath before he rounded the corner. He made sure to make his steps extra loud, so Butler heard him coming and hopefully stopped whatever he was going to force Peter to do.

Just before he was in sight, he heard the faint sound of a _pants zipper._

The sight he saw made him want to vomit.

“He said he didn’t want to.”

Butler jumped and spun around; eyes wide.

“Seriously? In the locker room?” His voice was wobbling ever so slightly, but he knew it was barely noticeable. He tried not to let his own panic overcome him as he locked eyes with Parker, who was on his knees on the tiles in front of Butler. “You know, anyone could walk in. Even a teacher.”

“This isn’t any of your business.” Butler rolled his eyes. “Fuck off.”

“Nah.” Flash scoffed. “I’m good here. Not after hearing you were about to force your boyfriend to give you a blowjob in a high school locker room.”

“I’m not forcing him to do anything.”

“That’s not what it sounded like to me.” Flash stepped forward, teeth grinding together. He pushed his own experience to the back of his mind and pointedly ignored his heart pumping in his ears. “He told you to stop.”

“Yeah, and?”

Flash laughed, without any humour. It was mostly out of shock. “ _Really_ , man?”

“Is this who you’re cheating on me with?” Butler suddenly blurted, eyebrows turned downward with fury. Flash didn’t move. “Are you serious, Peter? Him?”

“No, are youserious?” Flash cut in before Butler could say a word. “I’d- no. Just- no.”

“Get the fuck out, then.” Butler growled, and Flash didn’t miss the way Peter flinched.

“No.” Flash shrugged. “You should.”

“Unbelievable.” Butler looked between Flash and Parker, before he shook his head. “You’re just a slut like everyone else.”

Before Flash could think about it, he swung.

His fist hit Lucas Butler’s cheek with a loud crack. It sent the boy stumbling into the wall of the shower cubicle with a gasp and had almost crashed into Parker on his way. Flash winced at the pain vibrating around his knuckles as Butler sneered at him, a nice cut dripping red just below his eye.

Flash glared. “Get the fuck out of here.” _You rapist_ , Flash didn’t add on. “He told you no. So, get out.”

Too his surprise, Butler did. He thought he might get hit back, but instead; the teen stared at Parker for a long time. Then, he shook his head a second time and shoved past Flash to get his things. Flash watched him go, a little shocked, but recovered quickly when Parker shifted.

When he looked to the boy he had bullied for years on end, he couldn’t have felt any worse, any guiltier than he did in that very moment. Parker, Peterhad curled himself up in the corner of the stall staring straight ahead, dry-eyed. Flash awkwardly stood there, staring, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He’d just socked Peter’s boyfriend in the face.

_He’d just heard the same words that..._

No. This wasn’t even about him.

“Um.” Flash blurted, which made Peter jump. The boy’s attention snapped to him, and a glare of sorts had appeared on his face.

“Go away.” Peter muttered.

“No.”

Peter’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why do you even care? Nothing even happened.”

It was Flash’s turn to narrow his eyes. He let out a humourless scoff and crossed his arms over his chest. He was uncomfortable under Peter’s gaze but ignored the feeling as he thought through what he was going to say.

“Seriously?” Flash ended up saying. “I heard what he was saying.”

Peter’s glare fell, and he shrugged. “It was nothing. You didn’t have to… punch him.”

“Yeah, I did, you idiot.” He snapped. “If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be sitting down there.”

The teen looked away and rested his chin on his knees. “Please, just go.”

“Nope.” Flash swallowed all of his pride with a deep breath, then sat down in front of Peter. Father was going to murder him for being so late, but he found he didn’t have the same urgency he had five minutes ago. “If I didn’t come, would he have forced you?”

He felt he already knew the answer.

What he received was another shrug. “You don’t even care. Just piss off.”

“I do, actually.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “I know I’ve been shit to you. I don’t even know why I do it anymore. But I know what I heard, because someone did this to me too.”

Silence stretched on. Peter stared at him; mouth slightly open. Flash decided to continue when Peter said nothing.

“It happened a while ago.” He muttered, not used to talking about it with someone. “But I still think about it.”

“Oh.” Peter’s gaze fell, and vacant look appeared on his face. “I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t apologise.”

Then, Peter’s breathing became erratic and unstable. Flash openly stared at him, Peter’s eyes suddenly wide with panic, chest heaving desperately to take in air. He recognised what was happening immediately, and the guilt only multiplied by a thousand. As slowly as he could without scaring him, he reached out and placed a firm hand on Peter’s shoulder.

He was so far out of his element right now.

“You need to breathe, Par- Peter.” Flash began the usual routine his therapist taught him a few years ago. “In, out. You need to breathe. It’ll be okay.”

Peter either wasn’t listening or couldn’t go through with the instructions, because all that came out was a sudden strangled and choked sob. The guilt he already felt ate away at his insides. He shouldn’t have said anything.

Since the panic attack started, Peter’s eyes had filled up with tears.

Flash felt panicked himself. He didn’t know what to do, or how to help properly. No one had ever prepared him for this.

“Peter.” Peter’s eyes snapped to him, still wide. “Uh- copy me, okay?”

Flash began to exaggerate his breathing, enough for Peter to copy. After a few times, the teen did, and eventually Peter seemed to calm enough to get air into his lungs. Peter didn’t move from his spot, nor did he look at Flash.

“Do you have your phone on you?” Flash asked.

There was a quick, sharp nod.

Peter pulled out an expensive looking StarkPhone and handed it to Flash without a word.

Clearly, Peter didn’t want to call someone himself.

“Okay, alright. Um, who do you want me to call?”

“’ony.” Flash’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Who?” He asked, not understanding what Peter had said. It sounded like Peter was a second away from breaking down in sobs.

Peter took in a deep but trembling breath. “Tony.”

“Tony?” Flash didn’t know a Tony, but he turned on Peter’s phone, nonetheless. “Password?”

Peter quietly listed four numbers, and soon Flash was in. He found Peter’s contacts and typed _Tony_ into the search bar.

It took everything in him not to gape at the name that appeared.

The only contact that appeared was _Tony Stark._

For a moment, Flash just stared at the name.

There’s no way.

“Stark?” Flash questioned. “For real?”

Peter didn’t look at him but nodded.

Flash shrugged to himself and pressed call, still not fully believing it.

It rung four times before someone picked up. “Hey Underoos, what’s up?”

Flash gaped openly this time. No way.

It was definitely Tony Stark. However, instead of that self-assured, reserved tone Flash always heard on the TV, the man seemed relaxed.

“Um…” Flash stammered, then shook his head. This wasn’t the time to fanboy. “Uh, Peter, he-”

“Who is this?” _Tony Stark_ replied, voice suddenly serious, and quite possibly angrily. A shiver went down his spine as he scrambled to reply. “Where’s Peter?”

“This is, uh, Flash.” Flash chewed his lip as he thought about what to say. “Peter wants you.”

“ _Flash._ ” Stark said his name in a scarily level tone. “Where is Peter, Flash?”

“He’s with me at school. In the locker rooms. He, uh, needs your help. He wanted me to call you.” 

Another long pause. Flash glanced to Peter, who still had his knees hugged tight to his chest. He was staring at Flash, eyes less teary than they had been a few minutes ago, but still filled with fear. He looked haunted, the dark bags under his eyes more prominent than usual.

“Put him on the phone.”

Flash nodded to himself and hastily handed the phone to Peter. Peter took it and raised the device to his ear, and all Flash could do was watch, mind running a mile a minute.

“’M sorry, Mr. Stark.” Peter was saying, his voice shaking dangerously. “May’s working.”

_Pause._

“No, he d-didn’t do anything. C-can you please come?”

_Pause._

“Okay.”

Then, Peter ended the call and looked at Flash.

“Sorry.” The teen muttered, then ducked his head. “You didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did.” Flash replied. “Um… I’m sorry. About, you know. Thinking it was fake.”

Peter shrugged. “It’s fine. Everyone does.”

_No, it wasn’t fine._

“I’ve been a dick.” Flash stated. Peter didn’t seem to disagree. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Flash knew it wasn’t, but it was the best he was going to get.

For the next ten or so minutes, Flash kept Peter company on the floor of the shower, wishing he could do something. He could see the teen trembling, still huddled in the corner, face white with fear.

When someone walked into the locker room, Flash immediately thought it would be Butler. He readied himself to land another punch, his knuckles still aching and now bruising. Though, when he looked up, he unclenched his fist, and his jaw fell slack once again.

Tony Stark stood above him; but eyes were only focussed on Peter.

“Pete?” Stark’s voice was gentle, and quiet. Once again, a complete opposite to the Tony Stark Flash had seen. He watched in fascination, quickly standing up to allow Stark to move through. Tony pushed past him without a word, Flash only able to stare as the man knelt down in front of Peter. “Hey, buddy. It’s Tony.”

Peter was looking at Tony, eyes teary yet again. He didn’t say anything.

“What happened, kiddie?” Stark asked.

Peter’s eyes flickered to Flash for a split second. Then, he shook his head.

Then, Stark turned to him. His eyes were narrowed in Flash’s direction, but for a split second, they glanced down at Flash’s bruised knuckles. A little self-conscious, Flash hid his hand in his pocket and shifted awkwardly.

“Thanks for calling me, kid. I’ve got it from here.”

Flash knew when he was dismissed.

“Okay.” He whispered and directed his gaze back to Peter. “Bye Peter.”

Peter looked at him when his name was said.

“Thanks.” It was a near quiet whisper, but Flash caught it. He nodded.

Then, with one last glace at Peter and Stark, he grabbed his gym bag from the bench and high-tailed it out of the school.

When he got home, Father was furious.

Yet, all Flash could think about was how he was going to make it up to Peter Parker.

-

Tony had never seen Peter look this upset before. Sure, he’d seen him cry on multiple occasions, but it was never like this. Peter genuinely looked like he’d been spooked, and it was driving him insane that he didn’t know why, or who, had put that look on his face.

Getting a phone call from Flash Thompson, Peter’s bully, from Pete’s phone had been mortifying. He knew all about Flash, and how the boy constantly tormented his kid because he thought the Internship was a load of shit. So, sue him for immediately assuming that Flash had done something.

But when he had arrived, Flash looked just as scared as Peter did. He’d noticed the bruised knuckles, and when he saw no visible injury on Peter, the bully must have hit someone else. Something had happened, and he needed to figure out what it was.

“Bud?” Tony prompted, unsure whether he could touch Peter or not. The boy was curled up in the corner of a dirty shower stall, knees squished tight to his chest. “Talk to me, kid. What happened?”

“Luke.”

Luke. _Luke._ Tony sorted through his memory for a memory of a Luke, and after a few seconds, it came to him. Luke. _Lucas_. Peter’s boyfriend. Tony had never met him, but from the way Peter always described him, he was a good guy.

He felt like that impression would be gone in the next few minutes.

“What happened with Luke?”

“Can I t-tell you at the C-Compound? Please?” Peter whispered, sounding desperate. “M-May isn’t home.”

“Of course, Bambi. Let’s go, yeah?”

Peter nodded, and slowly he stood up. Tony wasn’t prepared for the boy to wrap hesitant arms around his waist, or to press his face into his chest, right where the Arc Reactor used to be. Tony returned the hug and pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of his head, wishing he knew what had happened. Peter trembled like a leaf in his arms, and Tony didn’t know how to help.

“Let’s go.” Tony rubbed Peter’s back, and eventually Peter pulled away but remained in close proximity. That’s when Tony spotted a faint bruise on Peter’s neck, barely there, but definitely there. He studied it while Peter wasn’t looking, gut rolling. It didn’t look like it had been caused by a punch. “Where’s your bag?”

“Over there.” Peter muttered, and together they walked out from the showers and into the main locker room. Tony grabbed Peter’s bag, then began to guide him out of the school.

When they were in the car, Tony kept his arm wrapped around his kid the whole drive home. Peter remained completely quiet, pressed up against Tony and stared straight ahead. Tony shared a look with a confused Happy, who didn’t say a word either. The drive was eerily quiet without Peter’s usual excited chatter.

Once in the garage, Tony helped Peter out of the car. The entire ride up in the lift, Peter remained tucked into his side without moving. Anxiety coursed through Tony’s veins like wildfire as he thought about the many possibilities that could come from Peter’s boyfriend to cause a reaction like this.

Whatever it was, it had to be the worst of them all.

Tony wasn’t sure he was prepared to find out.

“Where do you wanna go, kiddo?” Tony asked once they arrived at his private floor. Peter shrugged and chewed on his lip. This made the billionaire frown. “The couch?”

Peter nodded.

Tony guided Peter over to the couch, and once they were settled, he looked at his kid, expectant and worried. Peter avoided his eye, hands shaking so much that Tony reached out to hold onto them. Peter flinched, which made Tony pause.

“You’ve got to tell me what happened.” Tony said quietly as he rubbed Peter’s knuckles with the pads of his thumbs. “What did Luke do?”

“It’s stupid.” Tony shook his head the moment Peter said the words.

“Nothing that’s got you this worked up is stupid, Peter. If it’s made you upset, it’s not stupid. You got that?” Peter nodded and inhaled a deep, shaky breath. “I’d never judge you, no matter what it is. I promise. I just want to help you.”

“Um…” Peter whispered, then finally, looked up at Tony. Tears began to fall, which caused Tony to quietly coo as he reached up to wipe them away. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach as he watched Peter break down in front of him, genuinely terrified for what he was going to hear. “I c-can’t.”

“Deep breaths, buddy.” Tony reminded as he wiped away another tear. “I’m right here.”

“I t-think-” Peter suddenly choked on his words, and out came a sob. Tony’s heart broke as he watched, unsure how to help. “I think I w-was r-aped.”

Time stopped, and all Tony could do was sit there and process the words.

Peter dissolved into quiet sobs as Tony sat dumbfounded.

“ _What?_ ” Tony’s voice came out a lot more angrily then he intended.

“’M s-sorry.”

Tony wanted to vomit at those two words.

“ _No._ ” Tony gently cupped Peter’s cheeks with both hands and forced the teen to look at him. “You do not apologise. This is in no way your fault, Bambi. No one is mad at you, especially not me. Oh my- fuck, kid.”

Tony would have a panic attack of his own if he wasn’t careful.

Peter didn’t respond.

“Peter,” Tony whispered, trying his hardest not to let the emotion take over. “When did this happen?”

“Last w-week ‘n S-Saturday.”

_Peter’s date had been on Saturday._

Tony saw red. The little shit was _dead._

“Did anything happen today, bud?” Tony asked carefully.

“H-he tried to f-force me to d-do a b-” Peter’s words were cut off by a sob, but Tony got the message. Before he could ask another question, Peter surged forwards and buried his face in Tony’s chest. He didn’t waste any time in pulling his kid closer, finally letting his own tears well up now that Peter wasn’t looking.

“I’ve got you.” Tony muttered. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. Shit, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

Peter’s only reply was sobs. Tony let him cry it out, mentally forming plans on how he’d ruin this _Lucas_ bastard’s life. Tony wanted him dead, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Peter would never let that happen, despite how horribly he’d been treated.

Tony would think about that later when Peter was safety tucked away in bed, and when he could let out his rage inside of his lab.

After almost half an hour of violent crying, Peter fell quiet. Tony rubbed his back the whole time, Peter’s curls tickling his chin.

“Pete.” Tony broke the silence.

Peter twitched, which showed that he had been heard.

“This could never be your fault.” His voice wobbled, which must have caught Peter’s attention. Slowly, Peter retracted himself from Tony’s chest, and looked at him with those huge brown eyes. Except, they were filled with tears and bloodshot. Tony absently wiped at the tear tracks on his kid’s face as he spoke. “Listen to me. You never apologise for this. It’s on _him_.”

“B-but…” Tony already knew he wasn’t going to agree with what Peter was going to say. “I c-could h-have pushed him o-off.”

“ _Not_ your fault.” He reiterated. “I’m going to keep saying the same thing. This was never your fault.”

“I d-didn’t want to.” Peter was so young. Too young to deal with this shit. That other kid was dead.

“I know.” Tony replied. “That’s on him.”

They fell silent for another few minutes before another question came to his mind.

“That kid. Flash. What was he doing there?”

Peter shifted a little and gripped Tony tighter. “He m-made Luke leave. He helped.”

Tony nodded.

For the rest of the night, Peter remained right by his side. Eventually, they ended up snuggled together in Tony’s bed, Tangled playing on the wall-mounted TV. Tony carded his fingers through his kid’s hair as he watched, knowing it was one of Peter’s favourite modes of comfort.

Peter’s head rested on his chest yet again, most likely listening to his heartbeat.

“Kiddo.” Tony said when he noticed Peter was almost asleep. “I love you so much, you know that, right?”

Peter, for the first time Tony had rushed to pick him up, showed the tiniest of smiles. Tony’s heart swelled.

“L-love you too.” Peter hid his face in Tony’s chest after he said it. “Dad.”

Tony grinned and pressed a kiss to the crown of Peter’s head.

He hadn’t lied. He loved this kid more than anything.

Lucas was going to _pay._

-

The following week since Peter had spilled everything to Tony, he couldn’t stomach the thought of going to school. After a long, emotional chat with May, they agreed that Peter could stay at the Compound for as long as he wanted. Peter had let his friends know that he wouldn’t be at school for a week but didn’t say why. He knew they were worried, but he couldn’t tell them over text. He wasn’t sure if he could tell them at all.

Tony had him block all contact with Lucas, which hadn’t been hard. Peter knew the billionaire was mad, and at first, he had thought it was directed at him. For a split second, Peter had thought his worst nightmare was going to come true.

Except, it had been the exact opposite.

He had been curled up in bed when Tony returned from the school the Monday after Peter had broken down in his lap. He could tell the man was tense, but he looked somewhat relieved.

Tony had asked Peter if he wanted to know what had happened, but he had shaken his head. The only thing Tony ended up telling him was that Lucas had been expelled from the school and sent straight to police. He didn’t want to think it. So, instead, Tony laid with him, and ended up singing him to sleep.

When he returned to school on Wednesday of the same week, Flash was somehow the first person he saw.

Peter didn’t even want to look at him. Flash had probably told the entire school by now, but as he moved through the halls, no one paid him any attention. Just before he made it to his locker, Flash saw him. Peter’s stomach jolted in both fear and humiliation.

“Peter!” Flash said as he hurried over. Peter stopped and chewed on his lower lip. “Can we talk?”

Peter remembered what Flash told him. That he’d gone through the same thing.

The other teen looked desperate, so he nodded. There was a fair amount of time before homeroom started, since Peter had Happy drive him early so he could catch up with his friends, and maybe even come clean.

“Okay.” Peter agreed.

Together, they headed toward a quieter part of the hall, since the classrooms weren’t unlocked yet.

“Are you okay?” Was the first thing Flash asked. The boy looked worried; an expression Peter had never seen before that day in the locker room.

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to tell Flash that. “Um… d-did you tell anyone?”

“What? No. Of course I didn’t.” Flash looked offended that Peter had even thought of the possibility. “I’d never tell anyone something like that. Listen, Peter, I’m- I’m so sorry.”

For the first time since Peter had met him, Flash looked genuine.

Peter believed him.

“Thank you. For helping me.” Peter shrugged a little. “I w-would’ve let him.”

The boy in front of him winced. “Where is he?”

“Da- Mr. Stark took care of it.”

“Good.” Flash didn’t even give a remark about the mention of Tony. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Peter replied. “I’m uh, gonna go find my friends.”

“Okay.”

Flash had the guiltiest expression on his face. Peter sent him the tiniest of smiles, before he moved around the teen and headed in the direction of his locker. Without the looming presence of Lucas, he felt a lot freer. However, that didn’t reduce the paralysing fear he still felt that the boy would jump out of one of the classrooms and get him.

“Peter!” Ned exclaimed when he made it to his locker, where both Ned and Michelle were waiting for him. “Are you okay? We’ve been so worried!”

“I’ll tell you later.” Peter had to tell them. He couldn’t hide it. “I’m sorry.”

Both of them shook their heads. “You don’t have to be sorry. We’re just glad you’re okay.”

He wasn’t really okay, but it was a start.

Peter knew it would take a long time. He knew he’d never stop thinking about it.

But he’d be okay. Eventually.

Especially being surrounded by the people he loved.

He’d be _okay._

**Author's Note:**

> the ending is bad i knowww i didn't know how else to end it
> 
> if you can't tell, i'm a sucker for flash redemption.
> 
> sorry if any of this was shit
> 
> anyways, thank you so much for reading!!!


End file.
